This Red Lentil Curry is SUCH a delicious curry recipe ready in an hour! It’s made easily in one pot, is vegan and freezes so well!

Can I share a secret with you? It’s been a while since I last cooked. I mean, I’ve cooked to eat dinner, and oatmeal for breakfast, but after I created all those recipes for the ebook I went into a real and serious burnout mode. Writing a book is such a fun and challenging process, and at the same time, is a pretty exhausting process. I’ll say this – I don’t regret anything. I’m so glad to have finally created my first Jessica in the Kitchen product AND so grateful that the Mr. really took over with ALL the meals.

It feels amazing to be back and I’m really glad to be sharing this insane Red Lentil Curry. Oh my gosh. If you love my Coconut Chickpea Curry you’re going to FLIP for this.

First things first – thank you to everyone for the OVERWHELMING support I got for my ebook!! Honestly, you’re the best. It was the kind of motivation that I needed to jump right back into creating even more delicious recipes to share with you. This Red Lentil Curry is exactly that. Friends, this curry is SO flavourful! I know, I know, I say that all the time, but I HAD THIS FOR BREAKFAST.

Let’s pause right there. I *never* have anything but breakfast foods for breakfast. It’s sort of part of my life code – I love breakfast foods so much that I shan’t ever miss a chance to eat them. I broke that for this curry dish. I found a way to really infuse flavour into those lentils and to create a curry dish your entire family will (guaranteed) enjoy.

This dish reminds me of a dal that I enjoyed while in London that honestly changed my perspective. I’ve always loved Indian food, but I honestly haven’t been the biggest lentil fan. Of course I’ve made it in many recipes but after having Black Dal from Dishoom, I almost cried.

Okay, so food gets me really emotional, obviously, but to this day I can vividly remember exactly how I felt after that meal. The flavour profile of that Black Dal was unlike any other. I hope to recreate it one day, but for now, this red lentil curry thoroughly reminds of that dal. I’m not 100% sure whether this curry contains what constitutes a dal dish, but I know for sure that it’s a true winner. All the ingredients here lend a helping hand – the spices, the tomatoes and onions, the coconut milk, the lime – they all come together to create a dish you’ll want to be making and eating over and over. The Mr. is literally eating it again right now as I type this.

I wanted the flavours to come together easily for you, so I went ahead and also added red curry paste to the dish. It really packs that punch I was looking for, and goes beautifully with the fresh spices included. P.S. I use this red curry paste which is vegan and gluten free. I’m now convinced I’ll be using lentils way more than I have been before. They’ve proven to be very versatile and really helped to stretch this dish to serve a LOT of people. It doubles so easily, and I love that it freezes really well. Perfect for the upcoming cold months.

P.S. the world is your oyster with this dish. Feel free to try this red lentil curry with spinach, tofu, cauliflower, and even potatoes! It’s easily customisable. Enjoy, friend!

Add in the onions and tomatoes. Grind some sea salt and ground black pepper over the mixture and stir together. Lower heat to medium and allow to cook down until juices of the tomatoes are naturally released and onions are soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.

Add in all the other dry ingredients in order. Stir vigorously to combine to ensure the lentils aren't stuck to the bottom. Now add the water and coconut milk and stir again to combine thoroughly.

Bring the curry to a boil, and then reduce to medium-low so that the mixture continues to simmer for 35 minutes, cover slightly but allowing steam to escape. Stir occasionally to ensure the lentils don't stick to the bottom. Depending on the kind of lentils you're using, you can check around the 20 minute mark to see if your lentils have finished cooking.

Taste the curry and season with salt and pepper if you desire. Remove the curry from the heat and squeeze a lime lightly over the top of the curry, stirring to combine. Don't skip this step!! Allow to cool slightly and then serve. Enjoy!

If you try this Vegan Red Lentil Curry please let me know in the comment section below, or tag me on instagram with the hashtag #jessicainthekitchen! For more exclusive recipes follow me on Instagram AND on Snapchat: jessinkitchen.

Notes:

HOW TO STORE: You can store this curry in an air-tight container in the fridge for up a week. It’s an excellent candidate for freezing and can be stored in the freezer for up to a month.

A FEW NOTES:

1. This curry lasts for at least 5 days in the fridge as leftovers.

2. You can serve with whole wheat naan bread, basmati rice, or even crispy tortilla chips.

3. You can add so many extra ingredients to this curry. I love adding spinach and other veggies to add even more flavour and body to it.

TO ADD HEAT:

1. Crushed red pepper flakes: I would start with 1/4 teaspoon in the beginning so that that gets heated up with everything else. Taste and you can always add another 1/4 teaspoon.

2. Harissa paste: if you have a harissa or chili paste, you can stir a little in before the simmer part so that it can heat up with everything. Even sriracha can work.

3. Lastly, and my favourite, scotch bonnet pepper sauce which adds flavours and lots of heat. A few drops right before simmer again, and you can taste and decide whether you want to add more.

Hi Jessica, I made this curry last night, it was absolutely perfect! Even my carnivorous loving husband enjoyed it and said I can finally get my Meat Free Mondays, if I serve this curry again! 🙂 It was incredibly satisfying without being heavy. Absolutely loved it, so much so, I am having some for Breakfast right now! Lol

Hi Jessica, I made this recipe for dinner last Thursday and it was delicious. I sent some home with my daughter, also, as her hubby is Vegan and they both loved it. I added chopped sweet potato, just to put a bit more ooompf into it and it was really lovely. I will do it again soon. Another great recipe. I haven’t been able to get coconut oil her in Australia, so I use Canola or Peanut oil, but it doesn’t seem to make it taste anything other than delicious!

Hi Llona, I live in a country town in Victoria, Australia, and have been using coconut oil for at least 5 years. You can get organic virgin coconut oil from supermarkets in the natural food aisles, as well as in health food shops, and online. It’s readily available and worth getting hold of. I love it. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe, too.

Love, live, love this recipe. It’s the first of the website I’ve tried and it was delicious! I added some chilli paste (just before the summer stage) and it really impressed my guests. It makes a great amount too so I don’t have to cook again today!
Can’t wait to try more recipes

Oh. My. God!!!!! Winner!!!!!
This was ridiculously delicious, and such a major yum for my guy who seriously would have eaten three (pasta sized) bowls of it if there was any more left. Thank you, Jessica!

Hi thank you for your awesome recipes I loved the flavors of this lentil curry but my lentils disintegrated perhaps my simmer was too high but maybe best to remind cooks to check lentils when soft and stop cooking between 20-30 minutes. Otherwise love your recipes and thank you 😊

This lentil recipe is soooo delicious! I didn’t have fresh tomatoes on hand so I used canned fire-roasted tomatoes instead and it was amazing. Served with brown rice and my hubby said he could eat it everyday. Well guess what…he has ate the leftovers for the past 3 days straight and has loved it! I doubled the recipe btw 😉 thanks so much for your delicious recipes that you create and share. I have made 3 of your recipes in the last week and all were wonderful. Much love!

As you’re my go-to curry expert at the moment, since the chickpea curry two weeks ago was divine (!), this is cooking as we speak and I can’t wait to try it. Even the hubby, who is trying out a vegan diet, loved the other one, so here’s hoping this will be added to our frequent recipes. Judging by the smell, I have no doubt it will! 😍☺️

So delicious!!! Best curry I’ve ever made. I did add some chicken thighs and grated cauliflower and zucchini. I garnished with cilantro and fresh cherry tomatoes. I serves with short grain turmeric rice!!! The dish is totally yellow, looks nice w the garnish!!

This was absolutely delicious! My two meat eaters gobbled it up with nothing but praise. And it fed 3 of us (including two grown men) with plenty of leftovers. I plan to add it into my monthly menu. Thank you!

Hi!
Love your website. I tried this recipe tonight and cooked it for almost an hour and the lentils were hard. I’m used to eating very soft lentils, but I’m also used to green lentils, not red ones. Did I do something wrong? Or is that the consistency of red lentils?

Hi Evelin! I know I replied in email to you, but replying here too in case anyone else has this problem! 🙂 Thanks so much for your comments re my website!! Oh no! Something definitely went wrong. Red lentils are very soft in texture and this curry is very much like a daal.

It sounds like your red lentils were maybe very old. Sometimes when lentils are old they don’t cook well or at all. I really hope that helps!

Easy to make, not too many ingredients, nutritious and delicious! My kind of recipe! I’ve eaten it for lunch twice, my husband ate it for lunch once, and we shared it for dinner once… And still had a bit of leftovers to freeze! Will make a double batch next time now that I know we love it and will freeze more. My only confusion is that it tasted a bit sweet for my liking – not sure if that stemmed from the onions or the tomatoes or the chili garlic sauce I stirred in near the end. Anyways, we still loved it! Thank you for the great new staple 🙂

Oh, black lentils are so divine! Yes, you can use them in place, but they might cook a little bit faster than red lentils, so ensure to check them around the 20 minute mark like the recipe says. I hope you enjoy!!

Thank you so much for the response! I made this lentil curry for a NYE potluck & it was a big hit! The recipe doubles beautifully, and I’m eating a bowl of leftovers right now. I dare say, it tastes even better days later!

Just made this last night as we wanted something vegetarian for the start of Lent! I didn’t have all the correct ingredients and couldn’t get out to the shops so subbed in some ground pepper,cardamom and extra curry powder for the garam masala. I had no red curry paste so just added in some fresh red chili. I added in extra aubergine and spinach to bulk it up and served it over roasted sweet potato. It was so flavourful and my husband raved about it. I will definitely make this again and imagine it would be even more tasty with the correct ingredients. So delighted to find a really yummy vegetarian dish as we want to cut down our meat consumption. Thank you Jessica!